Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

My gf just bought me MDCI's Invasion Barbare which is absolutely amazing, but along with the gift, she also received samples of Amouage's Epic and Silver. I am almost mesmerized by Epic, while Silver doesn't really do much for me. Since trying Epic, however, I am wondering if there is another Amouage that will fully captivate me, and after reading a few reviews, I am thinking that Reflection may be what I fall for. I would love to hear comparisons of these two scents by the experts on here. I even called a boutique and inquired about them. I read in a review how some compare Reflection to Le Male, which oddly Invasion Barbare is compared to although I don't really get that. The SA at the boutique found that Reflection reminded her of the ultra niche answer to Joop Homme, which I found kinda interesting.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

You've got to try all of them. All of them have their respective champions.

Personally I love Gold and Amouage XXV.
I have bought a sample set recently and am going to try Dia & Ciel.

Dia seems to be quite a chameleon from what I've read.
Epic is supposedly a fantastic incense fragrance.
Lyric ofcourse is rose dominated.

Amouage is a luxurious line and the quality is top notch and so is the feel that you get when you hold a bottle.
Unless you have a particular disliking to any particular note that Amouage has, you should try them all.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

Agree that you owe it to yourself to try all of them if you can - it's an impressive and distinctive line up. When the line arrived here I was eager to sample all of them and in the rush Reflection did seem to come off as a little 'been here before' in the face of the others but that's possibly to be expected in such heavy hitting company - these scents have strong personalities. Reflection now is probably my favourite (well, Homage is but that's a slightly different story) for the simple reason that it is more 'wearable' for me, while the others generally require a bit of thought as to whether I would wear them or not. As a side note, I'm one of those who seem to be anosmic to Dia . . .

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

There's a distant connection to Joop via the jasmine and smooth sandalwood, and also their very smooth characters, but Reflection is wholly better in regards to quality of ingredients and composition, in my opinion. Joop! lasts longer and projects more and is more synthetically sweet. Reflection is rather sweet but the sweetness is much 'lighter and airier' - it's sweetness is moonlight shimmering off a placid lake at midnight whereas Joop!s sweetness is more like a laser pointer into your eyes. Well, ok, that's a weird analogy but let's just say Joop!s sweetness is much heavier, thicker, suffocating, and cloying. Reflection's progression on my skin is something like aromatic opening of rosemary and petitgrain -> early heart with noticeable orange blossom, some allspice (the red pepper berries listed in the top notes) is anchoring this along with the woodier facets of the petitgrain but neither are very prominent yet)-> a wonderful iris note filled out with the ylang ylang segues into the later heart where the jasmine and allspice begin to take center stage, now being filled out with a hint of vetiver and patchouli and a good dose of very smooth, mysore-esque sandalwood -> eventually florals fade almost completely and the smooth and sweet woody base remains, at first smelling almost like a powdery vetiver and over time becoming more and more sandalwoody (with a trace of patchouli present to add body, depth, and some 'darkness' to the drydown). If you like orange blossom, iris, and/or jasmine, I think you'll love this scent. You have to like powder, too, but it's not as powdery as some scents and imho the powder is always well balanced and "filled out" with woods or other notes - it never becomes a thin/cheap powder.

If you like Epic (I am assuming you mean Epic Man, since you didn't specify) I definitely think you need to check out Jubilation XXV. Jubilation XXV eventually becomes almost as incense heavy as Epic, but goes through a beautiful transition to get there, starting with a thick blackberry and winey davana opening, then into a spice prominent heart, which eventually becomes a spiced/dried/fruit/frankincense and woods melange.

I also think you should check out Lyric Man, if for no other reason than it being an amazing rose-dominant scent for men.

Ciel is somewhat similar to Silver although it is more "blue" in color and feel, and develops more. Ciel is a GREAT springtime scent, and always works well on cool but sunny days with open blue skies. One of the absolute best in that situation.

And yes, I do think you should check out Reflection. It's one of my absolute favorite scents. Be sure to give it a few wears (as with most of the Amouage, but especially this scent, Ciel, and even Silver, all which are a bit more "mainstream in their approach") as it has a lot of hidden charms that can get lost in the experience of the first wear. Actually, that's also very true for Lyric Man - it may smell very linear on the first wear but there is a lot of complexity and notes weaving into and out of the rose note which is the ribbon threaded throughout the center of the composition.

Dia Man is worth a sniff too, if only because so many here seem to love it, but I am not a fan. The florals against the woods and resins in this one end up making it smell a bit like peanuts, in a strange, oily kind of way. I do like the heart and base but the first hour or two are rather blah and at Amouage prices, that's a deal-breaker for me.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

Thank you for the feed back. I am really excited to try Reflection and some of the others as well now. Saying that Reflection is close to Joop, is it also safe to say it's similar to Creed's Original Santal? I find the openign of Original Santal somewhat similar to Joop, and it's my favourite part of that fragrance, with the bursting cinnamon and spiciness. I am less fond of the drydown and find it veers off from Joop to a different direction.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

I wish I could tell you. I really look forward to trying Original Santal, and also Invasion Barbare, based on what I've heard, but haven't had the opportunity to sample either, yet. I think L'Aventurier has sampled them all - hopefully he'll chime in.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

I've tried all three in question (OS, Reflection and Invasion Barbare), and all are significantly different from each other, to allow for all to be in the same wardrobe.

Original Santal- I do get the similarity to Joop!, but the fruitiness is less with OS. My main notes that I get are Sandalwood, Cinnimon and Ambergris (which believe it or not ruins OS for me)Invasion Barbare - Often compared to Le Male, IMO that comparison is pretty far off. This is a very high quality fragrance, and honestly, my nose isn't nearly good enough to pick this apart (though, admittedly I haven't really tried, I just like relaxing with this scent on), but primarily I get a bright and powdery lavender and light vanilla (it's not nearly as rich as, say, A Taste of Heaven).Reflection - This, to my nose, is the most complex of the bunch. It's a swirling combo of lavender, jasmine and iris to my nose. I DO, get similarities to both Joop! Homme AND Burberry Brit (in fact, I think someone was wearing Brit the other day, and upon passing by me, I could have sworn it was Reflection), yet it smells NOTHING like Original Santal. Gone are the spices and cinnimon, this is far brighter, and it has a dusty quality to it.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

I just smelled Reflection, and now I am more conflicted in my decision than ever. I find it to be a very seductive scent. I think I am naturally drawn to sweeter scents and this definitely has a very candied aspect to it. I also do like the incense and sharpness of Epic. The Reflection reminds me more of Joop than Le Male, and it is somewhat similar to Original Santal, but as mtgprox05 pointed out the drydown is different and also agree with him on the ambregris not working for the OS in the drydown. Are the Amouage fragrances ideal for layering, i wonder.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

I think Reflection is far more wearable on a regular basis than Epic, which is a bit too austere and almost aloof to wear regularly. Maybe you could buy a bottle of Reflection and pick up a decant or multiple official samples (2ml each, and only $6 a piece from Parfums Raffy) of Epic.

Alternatively, consider purchasing from Fascination Perfumery in the UK. With the exchange rates as they are, you can pick up 50ml bottles of most Amouage for < $130.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

I now feel I have a new dilemma. I am definitely decided on the Reflection over the Epic Man, but I also sprayed a small amount of the Jubilation xxv on my shirt. In some ways I find it almost a cross between the sweetness of Reflection and the sharpness of Epic. I am leaning towards Reflection stillN but that may be because I have had tested it more and with an an actual sample. How would members compare these two and which has better projection, developmenty, longevity and drydown?

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

I now feel I have a new dilemma. I am definitely decided on the Reflection over the Epic Man, but I also sprayed a small amount of the Jubilation xxv on my shirt. In some ways I find it almost a cross between the sweetness of Reflection and the sharpness of Epic. I am leaning towards Reflection stillN but that may be because I have had tested it more and with an an actual sample. How would members compare these two and which has better projection, developmenty, longevity and drydown?

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

Originally Posted by dreamchaser

I now feel I have a new dilemma. I am definitely decided on the Reflection over the Epic Man, but I also sprayed a small amount of the Jubilation xxv on my shirt. In some ways I find it almost a cross between the sweetness of Reflection and the sharpness of Epic. I am leaning towards Reflection stillN but that may be because I have had tested it more and with an an actual sample. How would members compare these two and which has better projection, developmenty, longevity and drydown?

IMO, JubilationXXV is the best of the line. Sillage and longevity are fantastic. 2 sprays is all you need. Footbridge to heaven! I have mixed feelings about Reflection. Sometimes I think it`s ok, other times it almost make me sick! Yes, I can indeed detect the same "aura" as in Creed Original Santal and Joop Homme. It is high quality in Reflection.. My top favourites from Amouage are Dia, Jubilation xxv, Silver, Ciel and Epic. Epic is a great scent, but I don`t always know what occasions to wear it. It smells very luxurious.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

I might just give up on my Amouage explorations.

I have written some very polite and reasonable inquiry to the firm and they have responded in such a rude, inconsiderate manner... almost like they would say: you're unimportant, buddy, we don't need you, we don't care about you, we only care about the billionaires we get a chance to serve.

This is the first time I write this type of message here and I apologize for it but, yes, given the extraordinary amount of high-end choices one has nowadays, I don't plan to give my money to a firm which obviously thinks its customers are worth s***.

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

Addict - I am curious who you contacted and what they said. If you don't want to post it here perhaps you can PM me. I only ask because I have dealt with them over a problem with the cap on a bottle I received and they quickly shipped me a replacement cap free of charge, along with quite a few free samples.

I've always found my dealings with them to be pleasant - it upsets me to hear of your experience as I tended to think Amouage was one of the niche houses that really offered a more personalized experience than most (for instance, the way they include with each fragrance a hand signed Amouage tag by the person who assembled/filled/inspected the bottle).

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

I haven't pulled the trigger yet, as I'm still undecided. I've been on a bit of a Creed frenzy as of late and I ended up picking up Original Santal which I find somewhat similar to Reflection although Joop! Homme seems much more similar to Reflection. I'm a bit surprised to read some find Fleur de Male similar, as I don't pick up any similarities. Which of the aformentioned Amouage scents would be ideal for a trip to Cuba or the Bahamas?

Re: Testing the Amouage waters.....which one will I drown for; Epic or Reflection

Originally Posted by Pour_Monsieur

I would say that they are practically the same

Reflection and Fleur du Male really only have sweetness + orange blossom in common. Reflection is far more camphoraceous, has less body, is more natural smelling, and is less woody in the top notes. While there are some similarities, they are nowhere near the same scent. If you want a scent that smells a LOT like Fleur du Male, but higher quality, look into Xerjoff's Oesel. Those two share a lot of DNA.